Veteran guard J.J. Redick accused New Orleans Pelicans executive VP David Griffin and the team’s front office of dishonest treatment surrounding Redick’s trade to the Dallas Mavericks.
On Wednesday, Redick spent time on his “Old Man & the Three” podcast discussing the Pelicans’ handling of him this season. He said he had requested a trade in November, in part because of the difficulties of his family in Brooklyn to come visit him during the season. Redick claims Griffin told him to come down for a month and if that did not change Redick’s mind, the Pelicans would find a situation elsewhere that he was happy with.
Redick went on to say that he expected to be bought out once a trade did not happen by February, and was “shocked’ when he was shipped to the Mavericks, saying the team never came up in discussions with New Orleans.
JJ Redick on his podcast:
– He was "shocked" to be traded to the Mavericks
– He requested a trade in November to be closer to his family in Brooklyn during COVID
– He thought the Pelicans would offer a buyout after the trade deadline pic.twitter.com/ElgsesVFHT— Master (@MasterTes) March 31, 2021
Redick: "Obviously, he did not honor his word."
– Says his understanding once after he wasn't traded at aggregate deadline was that he was going to get a buyout or traded to a team in the Northeast
— Andrew Lopez (@_Andrew_Lopez) March 31, 2021
“I don’t think you’re going to get honesty from that front office, objectively speaking,” Redick said, via Andrew Lopez of ESPN. “That’s not an opinion, I just don’t think you’re gonna get that. I don’t think what happened with me is necessarily an isolated incident. I think front offices around the league operate in their best interest. I get that. I understand that.
“Truthfully… I think I was a little naive thinking I was in Year 15 and I attempted to do things right throughout my career. But in terms of this front office, yeah, it’s not something where I would expect certainly the agents who worked on this with me to ever trust that front office again.”
It’s certainly not great for the Pelicans if this reputation sticks. Players pay attention to this sort of thing, and Redick’s bad experience might resonate with others. It could potentially lead to some veterans thinking twice before agreeing to join the Pelicans depending on the circumstances.
Maybe the father of one of Redick’s ex-teammates actually has a point about the New Orleans organization.
Photo: Verse Photography/Flickr via CC-by-SA 2.0
